Clockwork Oneshots
by Tsuki Kakumei
Summary: Setsuna never gave much thought to how time affected her until Usagi entered her life. A series of oneshots revolving around the lives of Usagi and Setsuna.
1. Of Monsters and Men

**Disclaimer: Sailor Moon doesn't belong to me.  
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**A/N: **Hello everyone and welcome to **Clockwork Oneshots**! These will be a series of oneshots featuring Usagi growing up with Setsuna and won't be in chronological order. Please refer to the first 4 chapters of my other fanfic titled **Fragmented Destiny** to have a better understanding of the events that lead to this fanfic.

I know that it's been a long time since **Fragmented Destiny** was updated and I figured that I needed to get _something_ out so in the spirit of Halloween, this was born! I usually put updates of my fanfic in my profile so if you're curious about why it's taking so long, please head on over there. And with that said, please let me know what you think and enjoy!

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It was that time of year again. It was a special day out of the many favorites of the year for one particular blonde child. That one special day that only came once a year that made children bounce off the walls and parents groan at the end of the night.

That's right, Halloween had arrived. It was the night where children and adults alike transformed into whatever their hearts desired. The possibilities for costumes were endless for they could range from just about anything, from fluffy cuteness to horrifically grotesque. For a six year old Usagi, Halloween was one of the most anticipated nights because besides getting to dress up she also received free candy! Even though she was always told to not accept things from strangers, it was always okay as long as a trusted grown up was with her.

The sun had just finished dipping below the horizon and light sprinkles of stars were peeking out behind the darkening sky. The front porch lights of many houses were flickering on just as children were emerging from their houses with their accompanying grown up. Night has fallen and Halloween has begun.

Usagi was quite eager to join in on the festivities and show off her costume for the first time in public. For the last three Halloweens the little blonde had dressed up as some kind of animal, such as a lamb, bunny, and tiger respectively. This year she had decided to be something else besides an animal so when Suna-chan had taken her costume shopping, she knew immediately what she had wanted to be once she laid her eyes on it.

Most girls her age dreamt of being a princess and Usagi was no exception. Her dream was fulfilled for this one night when her costume turned out to be a princess.

Usagi's costume was a white, full length dress that went down to her feet until only the tips of her shoes would peek out underneath the skirt. The bodice was a snug fit and the skirt flared out slightly at the hips. There were gold trimmings lining along the bottom hem, around the bodice, and on top of the short capped sleeves that were slightly puffed out. Her feet were encased in a pair of white, comfortable ballet slippers and a silver tiara was perched on the top of her golden head.

She was bouncing on the heels of her feet at the front entrance, eagerly clenching and unclenching her grip on the handle of her treat pail while waiting for Suna-chan to finish getting ready. Her excitement was nearly unbearable that she almost tore upstairs to Suna-chan's room, with her shoes still on mind you, to ask what was taking so long when she saw her mother round the corner to the hallway.

A gasp of delight escaped Usagi as she saw how pretty Suna-chan was. She was dressed up as a fairy godmother for the evening. She wore a long sleeved lavender dress that glimmered with silver sparkles in the light and fell down to her ankles. Her feet were adorned in a pair of low black heels and on her back were a glittery pair of pale blue fairy wings. In her left hand was a thin gold wand with a star on top to complete the overall look.

"Wow!" Usagi breathed, "Suna-chan, you look so pretty!"

"So do you, Usagi. You're the most beautiful princess I have ever seen. Spin around for me so that I can see everything."

Giggling slightly, Usagi did as she was requested. The bottom of her dress bloomed open like a flower and settled back against her legs when she was finished.

As she gazed upon her little girl, Setsuna couldn't help but to return the exact sentiments. She could see right away why Usagi had chosen this dress so readily. The style and coloring were quite similar to the dress her princess wore quite frequently during the Silver Millennium and it filled Setsuna with a feeling of nostalgia.

Breaking out of her thoughts, Setsuna quickly retrieved her keys and ushered them both out the door before the little bundle of energy that was Usagi could wait no more and decide to leave without her.

The sky was clear of any clouds and the night air was pleasantly warm even though it was nearing winter. As mother and daughter went door to door asking for treats, they saw quite a variety of costumes. Vampires, robots, pirates, fairies, and others were all having an enjoyable time collecting candy. An hour and a half had passed and Setsuna could tell that her princess was becoming tired. Deciding to call it a night, they were just about to head home when one of the mothers living in the neighborhood recognized Setsuna and engaged her in a quick chat.

Knowing that the two women were having a "grown up" talk, Usagi became bored and tried to find something to do to pass the time. As her eyes wandered around the neighborhood, a sound caught her attention from behind. Curious, she left the company of the two chatting women and went to investigate. As she neared closer to the sound it turned out that it was just a small group of four children having what appeared to be an argument. From what she could see there was an older boy wearing a simple pair of jeans and hoodie with a goblin mask covering his head, a girl dressed up as Supergirl that appeared to be the same age as her, and behind the girl were two boys dressed as mummies.

"Give it back to them!" The girl shouted.

"Tch, like I'm gonna do that. If you know what's good for you then you'll give me yours too!" The older boy puffed his chest out a little and took a step closer to the trio.

Uncomfortable that she was intruding on something private, Usagi was about to go back to Suna-chan until she witnessed the older boy suddenly pushing the girl into the two mummy boys. The girl let out a surprised scream, but managed to regain her footing before falling onto the boys behind her. The girl's brows creased down and she pursed her lips into a thin line before shoving back at the older boy. She only managed to push him back a step due to her being smaller and weaker. The goblin boy growled low in his throat and lunged at the sack of candy the girl was holding. With a vicious tug, the boy ripped the bag from Supergirl's grip with one hand and shoved her on the shoulder with the other. She landed on her side with an, "Oomph.", and glared up at the bully.

She was about to get up and tackle him when a flying rock came from no where and hit him on the throat. The bag slipped from his hold and fell to ground, assorted candy bars spilled out of the opening as his hands immediately went up to his throat while he coughed and sputtered. The girl looked behind her and saw a girl her age dressed in a white princess costume with twin buns on top of her head.

Usagi was panicking. She didn't realize that she was the one who threw the rock until it had successfully hit its target. She was just so angry at the boy trying to bully three people who were younger than he was out of their hard earned candy that she grabbed the first thing she could get her hands on without thinking. She couldn't stand by and watch while doing nothing. She had to help them!

'_If I tell Suna-chan that she won't get _that_ mad at me, right?_' At least she hoped so. In the back of her mind, Usagi knew that she was going to get into so much trouble, but what's done is done and there was no turning back now.

Strengthening her resolve, Usagi stepped closer to the group, "Leave them alone, you bully!"

Finally finished with his coughing fit, the boy rasped out, "You stupid brat! I'm gonna make you pay for that!"

He blindly charged at Usagi while she picked and tossed whatever rocks and pebbles she could get her hands on hoping that would slow him down. The boy was thrown off his feet when a forty pound Supergirl tackled him, effectively knocking the breath out of his lungs.

A surge of protectiveness for the new girl went through Supergirl. She didn't know who she was, but deep, deep down she knew that protecting her was the right thing to do and she was happy to do it too.

"Don't you touch her, you big ape!" The girl screamed at him before latching her teeth onto his arm. The boy screamed bloody murder, swinging his arm to and fro trying to dislodge the crazed girl. Even though he was wearing a thick hoodie, he could still feel the sharp sting of her teeth through the material. She let go when her jaw became tired from clamping down so fiercely and began beating him on the chest with her small fists. Eventually she was joined by Usagi and the goblin bully managed to squirm away from beneath them and make his escape, but not before picking up a different sack of candy that was lying on the middle of the ground.

Both girls were out of breath from the scuffle and matching grins formed on their faces as they high-fived each other.

Now that Usagi wasn't spying from afar, she was able to take a closer look at the girl before her. Supergirl was looking a little worse for wear. Her once clean costume now had streaks of mud and large grass stains from where she had fallen and the red cape she was wearing was slightly askew. The girl had clear blue eyes and long golden hair that went down to her waist, half of it was held back by a large red bow.

"Thanks for helping me back there! You were really great!" Supergirl said.

"I'm glad I was able to help. He was such a mean bully!"

"Hmph, you can say that again, but now he knows that he was beat up by two girls!" They both took a moment to giggle at that thought before the girl continued, "By the way I'm Aino, Minako"

"I'm Tsukino, Usagi! Nice to meet you, Mina-chan!" Usagi chirped back.

Both girls shook hands in introduction before helping each other up off the ground. Minako was dusting the bits of mud off herself with the help of Usagi, miraculously her outfit was able to stay clean during the confrontation, when two mummies approached them.

"Th-than-thank you for hel-helping us." One of them said through the hiccuping sobs.

"Yeah, thanks a bunch! You guys were really cool." The other piped in, "But he got away with our candy." The boys were saddened that their Halloween was going to be ending on such a sour note.

"Aw, don't worry about that. Big sisters Usagi and Mina-chan will share our candy with you!" Minako nodded her head in agreement and the girls went to grab their share of candy. They dumped their spoils onto the ground and started dividing the candy between the four them. When that was finished the mummies thanked them one more time before heading towards their home.

Sighing, Usagi knew that she had to go back to Suna-chan too before she got into even _more_ trouble, but she didn't want to leave Mina-chan just yet. She felt like there was an instant connection between them and that they would be the best of friends.

"Do you live on this street? If you do then my house is over there," Usagi pointed in the direction of her house, "Then we can play with each other!"

A frown etched on Minako's face as she shook her head in the negative, "I'm sorry, I can't do that. My daddy says that me, my mommy, and daddy are moving to a place called In-ga-land in two days."

Usagi cocked her head to the side in confusion, "Where's In-ga-land?"

"Daddy says that it's far across the ocean and we'll have to take a plane to get there. I'm sorry, Usagi. I really wanted to play with you too."

Disheartened that her new found friend was leaving even before they had a chance to spend some time together, Usagi bit back her tears and enveloped Minako in a tight hug. Sharing the same feelings, the other blonde squeezed back just as tightly. They stayed like that until a familiar voice in the distance broke them apart.

"_-sagi!_"

"That's Suna-chan calling me. I have to go." Usagi wiped at her eyes with the back of her hands.

"Yeah. Me too." Tears were gathering in Minako's eyes as well and she was doing her best to hold them back.

"_Usagi!_"

"Um, well I hope you like In-ga-land and I was really happy to meet you, Mina-chan! I hope that we can see each other again!"

"Same here, Usagi. I'm sure that we'll see each other again!"

With a watery smile, both girls hugged once more before Usagi turned on her heel and headed in the direction of Suna-chan's voice. Even though she was going to be in a lot of trouble for being in a fight and she had to say goodbye to her friend, this was by far the best Halloween she ever had because she was hopeful.

Hope that one day they _will _meet each other again.

_~Finis_

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**A/N:** *gasps* Usagi and Minako met when they were children? Oh my, I wonder what the future holds for them. I honestly didn't plan to write the ending this way and Minako wasn't supposed to be that aggressive. Originally it was supposed to be a light fight with the bully walking away and Usagi going home with Setsuna to eat candy. Really, this just took a life of its own and wrote itself, but anyways I hope you enjoyed it and Happy Halloween!


	2. Homecoming

**Disclaimer: All rights belong to their proper owners.**

A/N: Hello, hello! I originally wrote this as a big memory of Usagi's homecoming dinner for ch.13 of Fragmented Destiny, but decided to cut it out because it went in an entirely different direction than I had intended. I suppose it could be seen as an alternative memory instead.

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A three-year-old Usagi was sitting at the kitchen island watching her new adoptive mother move back and forth between the stove, counter, and fridge. The little blonde had finished exploring the house an hour earlier.

From what she had seen of the house, the kitchen was located in the left corner. It was an open layout showcasing itself towards the dining and living rooms. There was a four person dining room set to the right of the kitchen with a pair of sliding glass doors leading to the backyard behind one of the dining room chairs. Beside the dining room were the stairs leading up to the bedrooms. Across the stairs were two doors leading into two different rooms. The first room closest to the stairs was empty, but it was moderately large with a plush white carpet, powder blue walls, and two windows side by side each other being framed by gauzy white curtains. The second room was a small bathroom consisting of just a sink and toilet. After the bathroom was the walkway towards the front door and then the living room which circled back to the kitchen.

From her vantage point, Usagi cradled her chin upon both of her hands as she observed the messy kitchen. There were plates, pots, bowls, and little puddles of… something littering every available counter space. Even the chopping board was covered to the edge with pieces of chopped vegetables spilling over the sides! There were some neatly sliced carrots - Usagi liked carrots, especially baby carrots, they always tasted so sweet – then there were also bits of celery, some green vegetable called bra-co-lee, and a small pile of the white vegetable that always made you cry when you cut it.

Noticing that her little girl had been watching her for some time, Setsuna came up with an idea, "Usagi? Would you like to help me make dinner?"

Brightening up at the suggestion, Usagi quickly slid off of her seat and rounded the island. She stepped up onto the stepping stool that Setsuna had retrieved for her and waited expectantly for her instructions. Setsuna placed a small bowl and two eggs in front of Usagi. She first demonstrated how to crack an egg by gently tapping it against the sides of the bowl and then carefully pulling the two halves of the shell apart. When Usagi tried to follow her lead, her first attempt ended up with her cracking the egg too hard on the bowl causing an explosion of shell and yolk to cover her hands. During her second attempt she accidentally crushed the egg trying to pull the halves apart. Her third attempt was much more successful and she let out a happy 'Yay' when the egg joined its comrade in the bowl.

The rest of the dinner prep was spent much in the same fashion with Setsuna showing Usagi how to do things and Usagi trying to mimic her. Soon enough everything was cooked and dinner was being served onto the plates.

Sitting down at the dining table, Usagi clapped her hand together and said, "Itadakimasu!" She eagerly dug her spoon into the fluffy fried rice and brought the spoonful into her mouth. Setsuna was just about to take her first bite when she saw how frozen Usagi was.

"Usagi, is something wrong? Is it the fried rice? Does it- does it taste bad?" Deep down she knew why Usagi was reacting like this, but she had to ask anyways.

Seconds ticked by in silence before Usagi finally swallowed her mouthful with difficulty and placing her spoon down. Yes, it tasted bad, really bad, but she didn't want to hurt Suna-chan's feelings by saying that. So instead, Usagi picked her spoon back up and forced more scoops into her mouth and down to her stomach.

Setsuna received her answer. The little blonde's actions had said enough. Watching Usagi force herself to eat even though it was clear she didn't like it pained the young mother, but she also knew that this is what her princess is like. She'd rather sacrifice herself (in this case her stomach) than hurt another person whether it be physically or emotionally. Sighing, Setsuna knew she had to put a stop to this before her little girl made herself sick.

"Usagi, stop. I know it's bad. You don't have to keep eating; you'll get sick if you do." Seeing that Usagi's attention was on her, it was time to come clean. "The truth is that I don't know how to cook. This is my first time cooking and I wanted to celebrate your first day home with a home cooked meal, but I guess it didn't go as well as I'd hoped," she confessed with a sheepish smile.

Usagi lowered her head to stare at her plate as her bangs fell across her eyes to shield them from Setsuna's gaze. Her small shoulders began quivering and quiet sniffles could be heard from across the table. Setsuna, thinking that Usagi was upset because her homecoming dinner was ruined, quickly tried to console her.

"Oh, Usagi, I'm sorry dinner wasn't very good! But you know what; how about I order us some takeout instead? Here, I'll get rid of this for you."

Setsuna rose from her seat and leant over the table. As her hand reached across the table to take Usagi's plate, the blonde's head snapped up and she threw her arms around the plate like a defensive animal guarding its prey. She shook her head furiously from side to side in refusal, her curly pigtails whipped around her head with the motion, as she yelled out, "No!"

"Usagi?" Confused at her behavior, Setsuna froze in her position still leaning forward and arm outstretched. Her garnet eyes widened at the sight of tears gathering at the corners of those cerulean orbs. Swallowing thickly, Setsuna was unsure of what to do as both females locked gazes at each other. Soon enough though Usagi's eyes narrowed into a glare just daring her mother to try and take the plate away from her.

"U…sagi?" Setsuna repeated in a lowered though still confused voice.

"No! I'm not letting you take my dinner away! I'm not!"

"And why not?" Setsuna asked softly.

"It's 'cause!"

"Because what?"

"'Cause Suna-chan made it for me and it took a long time too 'cause Suna-chan kept getting ouchies," At that remark both females glanced down at the many band-aids adorning various spots on Setsuna's hands from accidental cuts. Setsuna looked back at Usagi as she continued, "My mama used to let me help her cook and it always tasted yummier 'cause mama said it was made with our love put together."

She paused slightly to look back down at her half eaten food. The gathering tears overflowed and made twin tracks down her cheeks.

"Suna-chan is my new mama and this is something special that I made with Suna-chan filled with lots of love." Each word slowly became quieter until it drifted off into silence.

The new mother hastily rounded the table to Usagi's side. Her heart melted at the blonde's admission as she enveloped the crying child within her arms and rested her cheek against the crown of her head. The soft fly-away wisps of hair tickled the tip of her nose as she rubbed small circles on Usagi's back and made shushing noises to calm her down.

"It's okay, Usagi, I understand. Your mama was a very wise woman and if you want to eat the rest of dinner then I won't throw it away. In fact, I'll help you too! How does that sound?"

She felt Usagi's tiny head nod in agreement against her chest. She let Usagi go and reached across the table to bring her own untouched plate to sit beside her daughter. Soon dinner had resumed in companionable silence; each bite bringing forth the occasional cringe and gag until both plates became devoid of even the tiniest grain of rice.


End file.
